Vertex Announces Third Quarter 2021 Financial Results

 PDF Version

King of Prussia, PA

Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ: VERX) (“Vertex” or the “Company”), a global provider of tax technology solutions, today announced financial results for its third quarter ended September 30, 2021.

“The shift to e-commerce has accelerated, becoming a preferred method for consumers and a profitable option for businesses. We are driving our strategy to advance global commerce by increasing the adoption of our cloud-based solutions and making key acquisitions that will position us for future growth,” said David DeStefano, Vertex Chief Executive Officer. “This quarter we extended our end-to-end solution platform with advanced capabilities to support the ever-increasing complexity facing today’s major omnichannel businesses.”

Third Quarter 2021 Financial Results

• Total revenues of $110.7 million, up 17.0% year-over-year.
• Software subscription revenues of $92.3 million, up 15.7% year-over-year.
• Cloud revenues of $33.3 million, up 45.6% year-over-year. 
• Annual Recurring Revenue (“ARR”) of $352.9 million, up 15.1% year-over-year. Average Annual Revenue per customer (“AARPC”) was $82,900 at September 30, 2021, compared to $80,500 at June 30, 2021. 
• Net Revenue Retention (“NRR”) rate was 106% in the third quarter of 2021, consistent with the second quarter of 2021.
• Loss from operations of $(3.6) million, compared to a loss from operations of $(50.0) million for the same period prior year. Non-GAAP operating income of $18.3 million, compared to $19.8 million for the same period prior year.
• Net loss of $(3.9) million, compared to a net loss of $(21.0) million for the same period prior year. 
• Net loss per basic and diluted Class A and Class B share of $(0.03), compared to $(0.15) per basic and diluted Class A and Class B share for the same period prior year. 
• Non-GAAP net income of $13.2 million and Non-GAAP diluted EPS of $0.08. 
• Adjusted EBITDA of $21.4 million, compared to $22.5 million for the same period prior year. Adjusted EBITDA margin of 19.3%, compared to 23.8% for the same period prior year.
• Over 4,258 customers at September 30, 2021.

Vertex Chief Financial Officer John Schwab said, “The global Vertex team delivered solid performance this quarter with continued growth in annual recurring revenues, including a number of significant expansion opportunities with existing accounts demonstrating our ability to support customers as their businesses grow.”    

Definitions of certain key business metrics and the non-GAAP financial measures used in this press release and reconciliations of such measures to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures are included below under the headings “Definitions of Certain Key Business Metrics” and “Use and Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures.”

Recent Business Highlights

• Acquired LCR-Dixon tools and expertise to extend our end-to-end global tax management solution with optimized tax automation and intelligence solutions for SAP customers.
• Launched the global Vertex Cloud VAT Compliance solution with advanced features to support the changing tax environment across Europe and other countries that require the digitalization of value-added tax (“VAT”) and goods and services tax (“GST”).
• Expanded partnership with Acumatica with the Vertex Cloud Indirect Tax solution achieving the “Fulfilled by Acumatica” certification designation. 

Financial Outlook 

For the fourth quarter of 2021, the Company currently expects:

• Revenues in the range of $108 million to $110 million, representing growth of 8.5% to 10.6% from the fourth quarter of 2020; and 
• Adjusted EBITDA in the range of $15 million to $17 million, representing a decrease of $(2.1) million to $(4.1) million from the fourth quarter of 2020.

For the full-year 2021, the Company currently expects:

• Revenues in the range of $422 million to $424 million, representing growth of 12.6% to 13.2% from the full-year 2020; 
• Organic cloud revenue growth in excess of 40% from the full-year 2020; and 
• Adjusted EBITDA in the range of $74 million to $76 million, representing a decrease of $(2.4) million to $(4.4) million from the full-year 2020, reflecting additional spend in research and development, as well as selling and marketing expenses to drive growth. 

The Company is unable to reconcile forward-looking Adjusted EBITDA to net income (loss), the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure, without unreasonable efforts because the Company is currently unable to predict with a reasonable degree of certainty the type and extent of certain items that would be expected to impact net income (loss) for these periods but would not impact Adjusted EBITDA. Such items may include stock-based compensation expense, depreciation and amortization of capitalized software costs and acquired intangible assets, severance, transaction costs, and other items. The unavailable information could have a significant impact on the Company’s net income (loss). The foregoing forward-looking statements reflect the Company’s expectations as of today's date. Given the number of risk factors, uncertainties and assumptions discussed below, actual results may differ materially. The Company does not intend to update its financial outlook until its next quarterly results announcement.

Important disclosures in this earnings release about and reconciliations of non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures are provided below under “Use and Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures.”

Conference Call and Webcast Information

Vertex will release third quarter 2021 earnings before the market opens on November 10, 2021. A conference call to discuss its results will follow at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time that same day.

Those wishing to participate via webcast should access the call through the Company’s Investor Relations website at https://ir.vertexinc.com. Those wishing to participate via telephone may dial in at 1-877-407-4018 (USA) or 1-201-689-8471 (International). The conference call replay will be available via webcast through the Company’s Investor Relations website. The telephone replay will be available from 11:30 a.m. Eastern Time on November 10, 2021, through November 24, 2021, by dialing 1-844-512-2921 (USA) or 1-412-317-6671 (International). The replay passcode will be 13723896.

About Vertex

Vertex, Inc. is a leading global provider of indirect tax software and solutions. The Company’s mission is to deliver the most trusted tax technology enabling global businesses to transact, comply and grow with confidence. Vertex provides cloud-based and on-premise solutions that can be tailored to specific industries for major lines of indirect tax, including sales and consumer use, value added and payroll. Headquartered in North America, and with offices in South America and Europe, Vertex employs over 1,200 professionals and serves companies across the globe. More information can be found at www.vertexinc.com. 

Forward Looking Statements

Any statements made in this press release that are not statements of historical fact, including statements about our beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements and should be evaluated as such. Forward-looking statements include information concerning possible or assumed future results of operations, including descriptions of our business plan and strategies. Forward-looking statements are based on Vertex management’s beliefs, as well as assumptions made by, and information currently available to, them. Because such statements are based on expectations as to future financial and operating results and are not statements of fact, actual results may differ materially from those projected. Factors which may cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations include, but are not limited to: potential effects on our business of the COVID-19 pandemic; our ability to attract new customers on a cost-effective basis and the extent to which existing customers renew and upgrade their subscriptions; our ability to sustain and expand revenues, maintain profitability, and to effectively manage our anticipated growth; our ability to identify acquisition targets and to successfully integrate and operate acquired businesses; our ability to maintain and expand our strategic relationships with third parties; and the other factors described under the heading “Risk Factors” in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020 as filed with the Securities Exchange Commission (“SEC”), as may be subsequently updated by our other SEC filings. Copies of such filings may be obtained from the Company or the SEC.

All forward-looking statements reflect our beliefs and assumptions only as of the date of this press release. We undertake no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect future events or circumstances.